December 30, 1898.] 



SCIENCE. 



959 



taught as a science to those who have no knowl- 

 edge of geology. However much entertainment 

 a boy or girl may get from dabbling in these 

 subjects, for the common run of students they 

 are university studies or studies for minds capa- 

 ble of doing university work. 



John C. Branner. 

 Stanfokd University, California, 

 December 1, 1898. 



The Story of Photography. By Alfred T. Story. 



The Library of Useful Stories. New York, 



D. Appleton & Co. 1898. 



In this little book of one hundred and sixty- 

 five pages, which can be carried in the pocket, 

 the author has gathered together an epitome of 

 the gradual development of photography from 

 the early attempts of Schultze in 1727 to the 

 prtsent day. The experiments of Wedgwood 

 and Davy, Niepce, Daguerre, Fox, Talbot and 

 St. Victor are given at length. An account of 

 the usual printing processes, of photo-block 

 printing and reproduction processes for illus- 

 trating, are included; also the recent applica- 

 tion of the X-ray and the kinetoscope. There 

 is just enough of physics and optics to enable 

 the lay reader to form a good idea of the prin- 

 ciples on which photography is based. 'The 

 Story of Photography ' reads easily and pleas- 

 antly, and it is doubtful if elsewhere in so small 

 a compass can be found as comprehensive a 

 description of an art that has so wide and varied 

 applications. It will undoubtedly form a de- 

 sirable addition to many private libraries. 



E. L. 



SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS. 

 American Chemical Journal, December. ' Cam- 

 phoric acid :' By W. A. Noyes. In this paper, 

 which is a continuation of former reports, the 

 methods of preparation and the derivatives of 

 xylic acid and xylidene are described. ' On 

 some relations among the hydrates of the me- 

 tallic nitrates :' By J. H. Kastle. Attention is 

 called to the amount of water of crystallization 

 of the different nitrates and the explanation 

 that can be given for the complex and basic 

 compounds. ' Liquid ammonia as a solvent :' 

 By E. C. Franklin and C. A. Kraua. The 

 solubility of about 400 substances has been de- 



termined. ' Determination of the molecular 

 rise in the boiling point of liquid ammonia:' 

 By E. C. Franklin and C. A. Kraus. ' On the 

 non-existence of four methenylphenylparatolyl 

 amidines:' By H. L. Wheeler and T. B. 

 Johnson. 'An active principle in millet hay :' 

 By E. F. Ladd. ' Comparison of methods for 

 estimating cafFeiu :' By E. F. Ladd. ' Creatin 

 and its separation :' By E. F. Ladd and P. B. 

 Bottenfield. 'A double citrate of zirconium 

 and ammonium :' By S. H. Harris. 



J. Elliott Gilpin. 



The Revue des Sciences Medicales, an excel- 

 lent quarterly journal, established twenty-six 

 years ago and edited by M. Hayem, has been 

 compelled to suspend publication. U Education 

 Mathematique is a new journal edited from Paris 

 by Professors J. Griess and H. Vuibert. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 

 THE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 



The 491st meeting of the Society was held 

 at the Cosmos Club, December 10th, at 8 p. m. 

 Mr. W. H. Dall spoke on the proposed Uni- 

 versity of the United States, to establish which 

 efforts are being made in pursuance of the ideas 

 of Washington expressed in his will ; and its 

 possible relations to the scientific bureaus of 

 the government. 



He thought that the projectors of the enter- 

 prise should avoid any official connection with 

 the government and that the institution should 

 not attempt to duplicate the undergraduate 

 work of existing colleges with which the city 

 is already abundantly supplied. He then out- 

 lined a scheme for post-graduate work in con- 

 nection with the scientific bureaus which he 

 believed practicable and which would occupy a 

 promising field at present unutilized, and which 

 would also involve a minimum of expense, 

 little legislation and no costly buildings. The 

 paper as a whole will appear in the American 

 Naturalist. 



The second paper, on 'Two Remarkable Semi- 

 diurnal Periods,' was by Professor F. H. Bige- 

 low, of the United States Weather Bureau. 

 An account was given of the three components 

 of the diurnal barometric wave, their distribu- 

 tion and variations in different latitudes, and of 



